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The Ingot by Slater

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English

What is it?

The Ingot was created by Montréal sculptor, architect and photographer Norman Slater (1921-2003). Made from an actual aluminum ingot, it was sponsored by Alcan as part of the Exposition internationale de Bruxelles in 1958. The Ingot has travelled around the world and, until 1965, it was showcased at several international fairs. The sculpture then became the property of the city of Arvida — now Saguenay — and is currently on loan to the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan.

Why aluminum?

It is the most abundant metal of the Earth’s crust and it ranks 12th among the most abundant elements in the universe. It was created during the final explosion of some very massive stars — type 2 supernovas — which enhanced the interstellar environment by dispersing a ton of chemical elements. On Earth, it is always combined with other minerals, particularly bauxite.

Thousands of uses for aluminum!

Lightweight and versatile, aluminum has been widely used since the implementation of production plants at the beginning of the 20th century. It is found in a variety of daily objects and in lots of equipment used for space conquests: Canadarm 2, certain modules of the International Space Station, and even the robot Curiosity, which has been exploring the surface of Mars since 2012, are all made of aluminum.

A green metal

Aluminum is a metal that can be recycled endlessly without losing any of its properties! The production of recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy than ore transformation and does not produce any pollutants. A five-star element for the environment!

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Space for Life brings together the Biodôme, the Insectarium, the Jardin botanique and the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan on the same site.These four prestigious institutions of the City of Montreal form the largest natural science complex in Canada.